KINDRED SPIRITS
by Magenta Moonshadow
Summary: This story was originally written in March 2006 for a Challenge thread on another site, the challenge being: Why does QuiGon have long hair?


**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in the Star Wars Universe - I'm just making fragile sandcastles on George's wonderful beach...

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**KINDRED SPIRITS**

On Coruscant – the glittering jewel of the Galactic Republic, dominated by high-rise transparisteel towers and ornate duracrete apartments, and a sky endlessly teeming with air taxies and supply freighters - the Gardens of the Jedi Temple were a peaceful haven in a frenzied world.

It was in the quiet, fleeting hour just before sunset, when the silver moon-flowers spilled their heady scent and the birds sang their sweet songs, that the serene and tranquil Gardens were most pleasing to Qui-Gon Jinn.

When off-duty from the demands of missions and other official Jedi business, he liked to take a walk along the shady paths of an evening, or just sit in quiet meditation listening to the soothing, watery cascades of the hidden fountains as the purple shadows softly fell.

It was on one particular evening, as he sat on a low bench under a moon-flower bush enjoying the birdsong whilst the last drops of golden sunlight slanted lazily on to the tree-lined path, when the squeals and laughter of several excited children broke his reverie, followed by the patient voice of a rather weary-sounding crèche-master.

"Mari'yanna, please don't touch that! You'll get your tunic messy! Sherak! Loran! What did I just tell you? Come here!"

The voices got louder as the sound of small booted feet grew closer and a young girl of no more than five or six years old, dressed in the tunic and with the short braid of a Jedi initiate, came strolling along the dusk-deepening path.

The sight of the impressive Jedi sitting calmly on the bench startled her, but she quickly regained her composure and without a hint of shyness, she walked up to him and sat herself down by his side.

"Hello there, little one!" he exclaimed with a smile. "And what's your name?"

"Mari'yanna" she replied, matter-of-factly. "And Master Cor-El gets grumpy with me because I'm always running off to look at the flowers. But I like flowers… Who are you?"

He chuckled at her innocent impudence. "My name is Qui-Gon Jinn."

"That's a nice name," she replied.

She sat there for a few moments, grasping the edge of the bench and swinging her little legs back and forth, looking at him, before she spoke again:

"Can I ask you something?" and before Qui-Gon could reply she reached up with small, curious fingers to gently stroke the long dark strands of chocolate-brown hair, which fell around the big Jedi's shoulders.

"Why is your hair so long?"

Qui-Gon could barely contain his amusement. "It is part of who I am, Mari'yanna. Through it, I express something that is very important to me."

"Hmmm, and what does that mean?" she asked, lowering her hand and looking up at him with a grin.

"I'll try and explain," said Qui-Gon. "Mari'yanna, you've seen the giant Baloba trees over there?" He pointed to the great golden plants, which towered over most of the trees in that part of the Gardens.

Mari'yanna looked around with approval and nodded.

"Well, think of the Force as being like a tall tree that has two branches. One branch is the Unifying Force, which is both the past and the future - all that was, and all that ever will be. And the other branch is the Living Force, which is about life and the here-and-now. Every Jedi has a natural affinity with either one or the other. I have always known that I belong to the Living Force."

"Always?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered. "Always. I came to live at the Temple as a very young child, even before I knew what a Jedi was – and my earliest memories were of the Living Force speaking to me."

"What did it say?"

"The Force doesn't always speak with words, little one," replied Qui-Gon softly, his dark blue eyes twinkling as he tried to explain. "Sometimes it was just a feeling of fellowship, of being connected by an invisible, unbreakable cord to everything that lived in the universe. I felt a kinship with all life, from the smallest flower to the brightest star. I knew that I was merely a small part of something much greater and infinitely more powerful.

"At other times, it actually spoke to me. Its voice was always strongest wherever there was life, and when I visited the Gardens I would feel it surging through me, singing sweet silver songs that made my heart almost burst with joy." His voice sounded far away, as he recalled memories from long ago.

"I spent as much time out here in the Gardens as I could when I was a Youngling, waiting to hear it whisper its sacred secrets to my soul. I knew I was destined to serve and follow it all the days of my life. When it speaks to me, I would rather die than disobey. So you see, little one, I grow my hair as a mark of respect to the Living Force which I serve."

Mari'yanna listened to him, wide-eyed and spellbound, and her hand reached up to her own braid. "It speaks to me, too," she whispered, weaving the thin plait through her fingers. "I hear it singing to me when I walk in the Gardens. And I feel it here…" She placed a small hand against her chest. "It spoke to me when I touched your hair. That was why I had to ask you. We're the same."

Reaching down, he tenderly ran his fingers along her padawan braid. "You're right, little one," he answered with a smile. "The Living Force has claimed you for its own."

"Is the Living Force better than the Uni…Uni-fy-ing Force?" she asked.

"Not better," answered Qui-Gon, "just…different."

More footsteps and laughter; then along the pathway hurried a rather tired crèche-master and her small charges.

"Good evening, Master Jinn! I'm so sorry if we've disturbed your meditations! Mari'yanna, I've told you before about wandering off!" she exclaimed, looking slightly flustered with the effort of trying to keep the half-a-dozen six-year-olds in one group. "Where are your manners, young ones? Say 'hello' to Master Jinn!"

"'Hello, Master Jinn!" chorused the children shyly, as they crowded around Cor-El's skirts.

"Good evening!" replied Qui-Gon with a smile. "And good evening, Master Cor-El. You are busy tonight, it seems!"

"I thought it would be nice to take them on a short walk before their bedtime," Cor- El sighed wearily. "We've had a rather…lively day, and I was hoping it would make them tired – unfortunately it doesn't seem to have worked! Sherak and Loran have just had a gwurm-eating contest, and Grallion seems to have developed a fascination with the fountains, so I have to get him out of that damp tunic before he catches a chill! I see you've already met Mari'yanna."

"Yes!" he answered, his large hand ruffling her hair again. "She tells me she loves the Gardens as much as I do."

"I hope she hasn't been any bother, Master Jinn. She's rather strong-willed!"

"No bother at all!" he assured Cor-El. "We've had a very interesting little talk!"

Most of the younglings were growing restless again, attempting to wander off in different directions along the dusky tree-lined paths. "Please excuse us, Master Jinn; it's growing late and I'll be in trouble if I don't get them back to the crèche in one piece! We'll bid you a good evening. Come along, children! Mari'yanna, say goodnight to Master Jinn and hurry along before we miss out on supper!" And with that, she left to round-up the straying children once more.

Mari'yanna climbed off the bench with a sigh. "I'm glad I've been chosen to serve the Living Force," she said in a low voice. "And when I'm a Knight, I'll grow my hair long, too!" Her face scrunched up in thought. "I don't suppose that Master Windu serves the Living Force?"

A vision of the stern, bald-headed Jedi Master suddenly flashed before Qui-Gon's eyes. "I don't believe he does, little one," he answered with a laugh.

"I didn't think so!" said Mari'yanna, as she touched her braid once more. Winking at him, she whispered "Goodnight!", and then ran along the pathway to rejoin Cor-El and the rest of her friends.

**THE END**


End file.
